Online booking of lab appointments launched in Salmon Arm

Interior Health has announced a new way for residents to book Shuswap outpatient lab appointments.

MyHealthPortal is now expanding to include online booking for outpatient lab appointments at select lab locations.

The health authority states in a news release that MyHealthPortal, launched in 2016, provides secure access to users’ personal health information including Interior Health lab results, medical imaging reports (such as X-ray, CT or ultrasound), visit history, clinical reports, discharge summaries, and certain appointment details and instructions.

To book a lab appointment, patients must be registered users of MyHealthPortal.

Go to www.interiorhealth.ca/myhealthportal to learn how to enrol.

IH states that the Salmon Arm lab is the first site to launch the online appointment scheduling. Lab sites in other IH communities will be added to MyHealthPortal for appointment booking in the coming months.

If you have not added your email address to your electronic medical record, or if you are not sure if you have, you are asked to contact MyHealthPortal support by email at myhealthportal@interiorhealth.ca or call toll-free, Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 1-844-870-4756.

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For Apple and Android users, once you have registered for MyHealthPortal, you may download the Meditech MHealth (MyHealthPortal) app through the App Store or Google Play. If you are on an unsupported device you cannot download the app, but you can access MyHealthPortal using the regular mobile site.

Here’s how you book an appointment:

Once on MyHealthPortal, you can click on the “Appointments” tab and then click on the “Schedule an Appointment” tab. You can then select the appointment type (e.g., blood test). Currently, the drop-down menu for locations includes only Shuswap Outpatient Lab.

Patients who have not registered for MyHealthPortal may still access a limited number of walk-in appointments Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Telephone appointments, which have been used on a trial basis in response to COVID-19 concerns, will be phased out after implementation of the online booking system.